Government dismisses sanctions' impact

Zimbabwe's Minister of Home Affairs John Nkomo has dismissed the impact of expanded European Union (EU) sanctions on the country's ruling elite, despite four government officials being denied entry to Europe at the weekend. Nkomo told IRIN on Monday that a decision by Sweden not to grant visas to three ZANU-PF officials to attend a women's conference "only strengthened the government's resolve in following through with the land redistribution policy". "The EU is only a part of a broader world. There are still many countries who have no problem in dealing with us. By broadening their list means that what we are doing is effective or else they wouldn't have bothered," he said. The three women, Edna Madzongwe, the deputy speaker of parliament, Olivia Muchena, the minister of state in Vice-President Joseph Msiki's office and Flora Bhuka, the minister of state in Vice-President Simon Muzenda's office, were supposed to visit the Scandinavian country to attend a women's conference. An official from the Swedish embassy in Harare confirmed that the country had refused to grant the three permission to visit Sweden. "The decision is as a result of the extended EU list. We have gone ahead and implemented what was decided in Brussels," charge d'affairs, Abdi Foum, told IRIN. In a separate incident, the deputy secretary for the disabled and disadvantaged, Joshua Malinga, was detained at Gatwick International Airport in London. Malinga was sent back to Zimbabwe on the first available flight. Amid concerns over human rights, foreign ministers of the 15-nation EU last week voted to add 52 new names to a list of 20 leading ZANU-PF and government officials slapped with sanctions just before the controversial March presidential election. Under the amended list, the 72 officials were banned from travelling in the EU, and assets held in Europe were frozen. Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) legal affairs secretary, David Coltart, welcomed the use of "smart sanctions". "The MDC is wholly supportive of these travel bans as it is a crucial way of asserting leverage over the regime without hurting innocent people. All of those targeted have willingly supported the regime and violence. None of them have spoken out. Malinga, although disabled himself, has not spoken out about how through political violence hundreds of people have been maimed," he said. Meanwhile, ZANU-PF and the MDC clashed over the weekend in the town of Kadoma, west of Harare, in the first mayoral election since President Robert Mugabe's controversial re-election. The MDC alleged that ZANU-PF militants had attacked their supporters in the lead-up to the local poll. "ZANU-PF acts as if the MDC is an illegal organisation in the country. During the campaign a number of MDC district officials were harassed by the police for reasons unknown," MDC secretary-general Welshman Ncube told IRIN. "Young men and women wearing MDC t-shirts have been beaten up on the streets and in beer halls. It has become impossible to express ones political affiliation. We are constantly under fire from ZANU-PF militia and even from the very police that is supposed to protect its citizens," he said. A low voter turn-out was reported in the Kadoma poll. See the full list of those "blacklisted" by the EU.